Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Never Drunk No Matter How Much One Drinks, Each Harboring Their Own Thoughts

Huo Sining invented the tale of a fish-breeding master merely because she didn’t want her secret to be uncovered, yet she never imagined Qin Shaoyou would misunderstand so greatly.

If she knew what was going through Qin Shaoyou’s mind, she would certainly cry foul, “Big brother, I really don’t have as many thoughts as you think I do, you’re really overthinking this!”

Despite his grievances, even Qin Shaoyou had to admit that Huo Sining’s fish were indeed well-raised.

The fish in this store, whether the Rainbow Fairy Fish or the Golden Swallow Lamp, all looked brightly colored and exceptionally beautiful.

So many premium varieties of fish were a big gesture; there probably wasn’t another like this one on the street.

Especially when he saw the fish tank Huo Sining used specifically for koi, the more Qin Shaoyou looked, the more astounded he became.

The koi looked to be only four to five inches long, yet their colors had already started to show, with hints of vermilion beginning to appear.

Just one glance and Qin Shaoyou knew that once these fish grew up, they would likely all be top-quality red and white koi.

Qin Shaoyou had never encountered such a situation before, and he couldn’t figure out how it was achieved.

If one were to say that these fish had been tampered with, using Qin Shaoyou’s professional expertise, it would be impossible for him not to notice any abnormal symptoms in the fish.

The problem was that these fish not only were not sick, their spirits looked even better than the koi he usually saw.

Seeing this, Qin Shaoyou felt a bit conflicted and couldn’t help but look at Huo Sining with suspicion, thinking to himself:

Could this girl be a monster? How else could she raise fish that grow against the laws of nature?

Huo Sining finally let out a sigh of relief after helping the last customer in the store pay and package their fish.

She hadn’t expected her first day of business to be so busy; the morning’s welcoming and sending off had made her feel a bit tired.

After taking a sip of water from her cup, Huo Sining looked up and noticed that a new person had entered the shop. She looked over and realized that it was actually a familiar face.

“Boss Qin?” Huo Sining was somewhat surprised, “How come…?”

“You know each other?” Su Jinyuan was curious.

Having listened to his sister mention Huo Sining from time to time, Su Jinyuan also knew quite a bit about her. He was aware that Huo Sining had come alone to S City, but he didn’t expect that in less than a month she had already gotten to know so many people.

Huo Sining nodded: “I rented a place from Mrs. Xu before; I’ve met Boss Qin once, though I thought he might have forgotten me due to his status.”

Qin Shaoyou’s expression, however, wasn’t too good. He raised his eyes to look at Jin Chenyu, who was pretending not to recognize him behind Huo Sining, and managed a faint smile, “Remember, how could I forget, that Rainbow Fairy Fish made a deep impression on me!”

“Uh…”

Deep impression? Huo Sining thought that Qin Shaoyou was referring to when Mrs. Xu took advantage of a free Rainbow Fairy Fish, but Qin Shaoyou’s words seemed to have a deeper meaning. Seeing his odd expression made her suddenly unsure how to respond.

Su Jinyuan noticed the slight coldness in Qin Shaoyou’s eyes when he looked at Huo Sining and furrowed his brows, giving Qin Shaoyou a suspicious glance.

“Miss Huo, you’re also raising so many freshwater fish in the back!” Just then, Xie Daoyuan suddenly went to the partition in the back and, to his surprise, discovered a hidden area with three big ponds, “Oh, and there are live shrimp too!”

There was a smile on Huo Sining’s face: “Professor, all those are wild-caught from the Yellow River. If you like, I could catch some for you to try!”

The mention of taking some to try again made Jin Chenyu’s nerves jittery, and he abruptly looked up, “Do you also have Huangjiang Knifefish in there?”

Huo Sining quickly shook her head.

What a joke. How easy would it be to find Yangtze River Knifefish? The few she found last time took her a whole night to catch, didn’t they?

By this time, the knifefish had migrated to the sea, and if she wanted to catch fish, she’d have to go to the sea for that.

Though S City faced the East Sea, Huo Sining had yet to visit the seaside since her arrival.

Despite having the Water-Repelling Pearl, a tragic past life sunken at the bottom of the sea caused her subconscious to have an aversion to the sea.

Although she knew she would eventually have to broaden her horizons and explore the sea, overcoming this psychological barrier might take some time.

Xie Daoyuan was not the sort to stand on ceremony. Seeing so many live fish and fresh shrimp made his mouth water, especially after hearing Huo Sining say those fish were all authentic wild catches. His eyes lit up at the thought, and he felt a little itch inside.

Huo Sining couldn’t help but find Xie Daoyuan’s greedy expression amusing. She wasn’t just talking big, she picked up a net and started scooping up fish from the pond without a moment’s hesitation.

With one scoop she caught several lively fish, weighing a good seven or eight jin. Huo Sining bagged them up in a plastic bag and handed it straight to Xie Daoyuan.

Xie Daoyuan felt a pang of distress looking at Huo Sining’s generous gesture, thinking that she had simply given away three or four fish to him for nothing. How was she supposed to make any money?

He instantly became displeased and insisted on paying Huo Sining.

Huo Sining initially refused, but seeing Xie Daoyuan’s insistence on paying, she didn’t play coy and symbolically accepted fifty yuan.

The people in the room were all ignorant of household expenses and thought the fish were worth fifty yuan, but only Qin Shaoyou and Xie Daoyuan knew the price of wild live fish.

As a home cook, Xie Daoyuan knew that not only were wild live fish expensive, but also it was very hard to find the real deal.

He thought to himself that the girl seemed savvy but wasn’t very good at business. Could she end up losing money with this shop?

Qin Shaoyou studied ornamental fish and often needed to conduct market surveys, so he had some understanding of the price of wild live fish too.

Seeing Huo Sining currying favor with Professor Xie while pretending to be indifferent, and remembering how she had charged him 120,000 yuan for a Rainbow Fairy Fish, Qin Shaoyou felt a burst of frustration, looking at Huo Sining with disdain and mocking her with a laugh, increasingly convinced that the girl before him was deviously scheming and good at currying favor.

The opening banquet naturally involved drinking. When they arrived at the private room of the restaurant Huo Sining had booked, Su Qingqing started egging on the crowd to toast to Huo Sining before she even brought it up.

Huo Sining’s worst fear was drinking. She would flush after just a sip and would be completely drunk after three glasses, once earning her the nickname “Three Cups and Down” from her classmate.

In her past life, it was because of drinking that she was sold out by Zhao Mingcheng, so just the mention of drinking from Su Qingqing made Huo Sining’s complexion turn a bit pale.

To Huo Sining’s surprise, as Su Qingqing began to stir things up, Qin Shaoyou across from her joined in, saying:

“We should indeed drink. I heard that today, Junior Huo also received her acceptance notice from S University. This calls for a drink—double happiness has come upon us. Congratulations are in order!”

Qin Shaoyou’s words sounded cheerful, but for some reason, Huo Sining felt she could see schadenfreude and malice in that guy’s eyes.

With Su Qingqing and Qin Shaoyou leading the charge, Su Jinyuan and Xie Daoyuan also got in the mood, with Jin Chenyu chipping in with jokes and banter.

Everyone was there to celebrate, and as the host, Huo Sining couldn’t dampen everyone’s spirits. Despite her fear, she had to steel herself and drink.

“I really can’t handle my liquor at all. Just one sip and I’m down. If I get drunk later, you two have to take responsibility for sending me back, okay?”

Before drinking, Huo Sining gave Su Qingqing and her brother a preemptive warning. Unaware of what was about to happen, Su Qingqing hurriedly nodded with a smile.

Unexpectedly, after a glass of white liquor, Huo Sining showed neither a flushed face nor a racing heart, and she didn’t react at all to the alcohol, leaving everyone at the table astonished and herself completely baffled.

Afterward, when others toasted to her, she simply kept drinking without any trouble. She somehow managed to walk steadily to the cashier’s desk, very lucidly swiped her card to pay the bill, and didn’t feel the slightest bit dizzy.

Jin Chenyu found this shocking. He couldn’t believe his own student had such a strong tolerance for alcohol. Was this a sign that he was failing in his duties as the class advisor?

Su Qingqing watched Huo Sining with wide eyes, disbelieving, “Didn’t you say that you can’t touch a drop? Is this your ‘Three Cups and Down’? I think you’re immune to thousands of glasses without getting drunk!”

“The true face is not known—Miss Huo really is extraordinary!” Qin Shaoyou said bitterly, her words to others might have just been humble demurrals, but Qin Shaoyou found them to be very ironic.

He had deliberately instigated the drinking game to get this woman drunk and teach her a lesson, upon hearing Huo Sining say she couldn’t handle her drink.

But after Huo Sining had consumed more than a jin of white liquor without changing her expression, Qin Shaoyou felt he had been played by her again.

This woman had become expert at feigning weakness, even pretending when it came to drinking, putting on an act. Her scheming was truly frightening!

Professor Xie’s face was all smiles, but deep down, he was already seriously considering the feasibility of transferring Huo Sining to the College of Cultural Heritage, as suggested by Su Qingqing.

Having a student with such an impressive capacity for alcohol would make a great asset at academic research conferences where she could fend off the drinks. The mere thought seemed quite promising.

Su Jinyuan was the only one in the group who was truly happy.

He had always felt there was something remarkable about Huo Sining, with her decisive actions and principles. Now, seeing her drink so boldly, he could tell she was straightforward. He had been somewhat fond of Huo Sining before, and now his admiration only grew. He thought to himself that if Huo Sining agreed, he wouldn’t mind adopting the girl as his sister, a notion Su Qingqing likely wouldn’t mind either.